1. Basic introduction:
Halloween is a holiday for Catholics, saints and Orthodox Christians. In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, Halloween falls on 1 1 month 1 day every year. In the Orthodox Church, All Saints Day is the first Sunday after Pentecost, thus marking the end of the Easter season.
At the beginning of 1 century, the Catholic Church in Europe designated 1 1 month/day as "ALL HALLOWS DAY". "HALLOW" means saint. Legend has it that since 500 BC, CELTS living in Ireland, Scotland and other places moved this festival forward by one day, that is,1October 3 1 day.
In some areas of Scotland and Canada, Halloween is still called All Hallow Mas, which means a Mass to be held in memory of all saints. In addition, due to cultural differences, people in other regions often mistake Halloween for Halloween.
Unlike Christmas and a peaceful night, Halloween is no different from Halloween. People often think of Halloween in the west as Halloween, because a new day begins after 12 o'clock that night.
2. Festival activities:
Jack-o'-"Jack-o'-lantern" (Jack-o'-lantern) is very cute and simple to make. Hollow out the pumpkin, then carve smiling eyes and a big mouth on the outside, then insert a candle in the pumpkin and light it, so that people can see this naive smiling face from a far distance. This is the children's favorite plaything.
However, the highlight of Halloween is still on the dining table. You should not only prepare delicious food to entertain those "kids" who come to make trouble, but also dress up your dining table on this special festival. Don't let your guests underestimate you!
This night is the most "haunted" time of the year, and all kinds of monsters, pirates, alien visitors and witches are out in succession. Before the Christian era, the Celts held a ceremony in late summer to thank God and the sun for their kindness. At that time, the soothsayers lit and practiced witchcraft to drive away the monsters that were said to be wandering around. Later, the harvest festival celebrated by the Romans with nuts and apples merged with the Celtic1October 3 1 day. In the Middle Ages, people wore animal-shaped costumes and terrible masks to drive away ghosts in the dark on Halloween. Although Christianity later replaced Celtic and Roman religious activities, the early customs remained. Children wear all kinds of costumes and masks with a joking mind to participate in Halloween dances. Witches, black cats, ghosts and bones are often hung on the walls around these dances, and pumpkin lanterns with grinning or disgusting faces are hung at the windows and doors.
On Halloween, children will carry pumpkin lanterns and wear all kinds of strange costumes to ask for candy from door to door, and keep saying "trick- or -treat" (meaning trick-or-treat). If you refuse to give candy, children will be very angry and punish you in various ways, such as dumping garbage in your house until you are willing to give them candy.
3. Festival customs:
1October 3 1 day is the western Halloween. There are wonderful live performances, illusion magic staged on the stage, lifelike walkers and ghosts, and various horror movies on the streets of the United States.
The origin of this carnival is that in 500 BC, people living in Ireland, Scotland and northwest France believed that the dead would return to their places of residence on1October 3 1 day, and look for life in the living to get a chance to regenerate. Local residents are worried that ghosts will take their own lives, so when1October 3 1 day comes, all the lights will be turned off, making it impossible for ghosts to find the living and dressing up as monsters to scare away ghosts.
With the passage of time, the meaning of Halloween has gradually become festive. The monsters and pictures symbolizing Halloween have become cute and quaint, such as pumpkin monsters and witches. Americans who love to be creative do their best to dress up like ghosts on this day, making Halloween much more interesting.
Halloween is a good time for children to have fun. In the eyes of children, it is a festival full of mystery. As night falls, the children can't wait to put on colorful makeup clothes, put on strange masks, put on a "jack lamp" and run out to play. The "Jack-o 'lantern" looks very cute. The way to do it is to hollow out the pumpkin, carve smiling eyes and a big mouth on the outside, then put a candle in the pumpkin and light it, so that people can see this naive smiling face in a far distance.
After packing up, groups of children dressed as monsters ran to the neighbor's door with "Jack-o-lanterns" in their hands, shouting "Money or food" in a threatening way. If adults don't treat them with candy or change, those naughty children will do what they say: OK, if you don't treat them, I'll play a trick on you. Sometimes they soap other people's doorknobs and sometimes color other people's cats. These little pranks often make adults laugh and cry. Of course, most families are very happy to entertain these naive little guests. Therefore, on Halloween, children always have full stomachs and pockets.
The most popular game on Halloween is "biting apples". In the game, people let the apples float in a basin filled with water, and then let the children bite the apples with their mouths without using their hands. Whoever bites first will be the winner.